Hall of Fame Inductee - 1986-87 Boys Basketball Team

It’s an indelible
image, one Quincy High
School basketball fans
will never forget. It’s
Jimmy Bailey dancing
down the Assembly
Hall floor, eyes fixed on
the overhead scoreboard,
arms raised in
celebration as one of
the most improbable
upsets in state tournament
history was
nearly complete.
Bailey hit the shot,
27 or so feet from the
basket, that gave the
1986-87 QHS boys basketball team a 61-59 overtime
victory against No. 1-ranked Peoria Manual in the state
quarterfinals. The Blue Devils finished fourth, one of
five state trophies won during Quincy coach Jerry
Leggett’s tenure, but their ability to win even when
mismatched set this team apart.
It happened in the super-sectional as Lockport took
a 42-41 lead with 1:14 remaining in regulation before
Quincy held the ball for the final shot. Taking a timeout
in the closing seconds, Leggett called for Jason Gay
to get the ball on the block.
With 6-foot-6 Dave Mitidiero hounding Gay, Bailey
delivered a perfect
entry pass to the left
side of the lane. Gay
took a power dribble
and turned to the
middle where Mitidiero
had his arms
stretched out. He
pump-faked to get
Mitidiero in the air
and ducked under for
the layup and 43-42
victory.
One of the most
balanced teams in
school history — five
players averaged
between 8.0 and 14.7 points per game, and overall, the
Blue Devils shot 51.7 percent from the field — Quincy
finished 26-7. The Blue Devils won the Western Big Six
Conference with an 8-2 record and took third at the
Collinsville Holiday Classic.
Team members were Chris Jones, Larry Loethen,
Bruce Bias, James Bailey, Chris Doane, Jason Gay,
Kelcey Clark, Rod Rudd, Steve Berry, Keith Oliver,
Todd Thompson, Lyle Martin, Mike Connell, Mike
O’Connell, Todd Wemhoener and Carl Steele. The
coaches were Jerry Leggett, Mike Hellenthal and
Tom Berry.